Administrative Review Council Inquiry on Migration
Key issue 6 – Other Special Procedural Provisions
The Migration Act creates a comprehensive and exhaustive arrangement for dealing with migration and protection decisions which, in some respects, differs quite substantially from common law principles.
The 2024 ART Reforms maintained many of the existing provisions and statutory hearing procedures applying to the migration and protection review system. Many of the provisions were largely modified rather than fundamentally transformed. The reforms standardised certain processes for migration and protection matters with other caseloads at the Tribunal and enabled use of a broader range of powers and procedures in review. The reforms also retained some provisions excluding aspects of procedural fairness, including a consolidated form of the exhaustive statement of natural justice hearing rule. Collectively, these migration related provisions may be called the special procedural provisions ("SPPs").
The Council seeks views on the effectiveness of the SPPs and whether they are achieving their intended objectives and objects of the ART. The Council also seeks views as to whether any other amendments could be made to improve the statutory hearing arrangements for procedural fairness at review.
This is discussed further under Key Issue 6 in the Issues Paper.